China win two more gold medals at Swimming World Cup

SHANGHAI - The FINA Swimming World Cup in Shanghai concluded on Sunday, with China securing a total of six gold, 11 silver, and seven bronze medals. Tang Qianting and Tang Muhan each claimed a gold medal on the final day of the competition.

Chinese swimmers excelled in the women's 800m freestyle, sweeping the podium with gold, silver and bronze medals. Tang Muhan finished first with a time of 8:15.34, followed by Gao Weizhong and Kong Yaqi.

"I am satisfied with the result because this reflects my current performance status. Some things need to be improved because I'm not that used to swimming short course. I need to figure out better ways to turn more quickly in short course competitions," said Tang Muhan.

Tang Qianting won gold in the women's 50m breaststroke with a time of 28.76, breaking the Asian record. With two gold medals, she tied with Qin Haiyang for the most golds among Chinese swimmers.

World champion Qin Haiyang took silver in the men's 200m breaststroke, finishing the World Cup with a total of two golds and one silver. Yu Yiting earned two silvers in the women's 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley. Additionally, Switzerland's Noe Ponti broke the world record in the men's 50m butterfly during the morning heats with a time of 21.67.

China's men's 100m freestyle Olympic champion Pan Zhanle ranked ninth in the 200m freestyle heats with a time of 1:44.13, just 0.06 seconds away from making the finals.

France's swimming star Leon Marchand maintained his dominance in the men's individual medley by winning the 400m medley on Sunday, adding to his gold medals in the 100m and 200m events.

"This is the longest race I have swum since Paris. I forgot how much the 400 IM hurts," said the Olympic champion. "I think I went out too hard on my fly segment. It's about working on the nuances of each of my strokes and the timing of my races. I'm pushing my body, and it's been a real test racing all of these guys. But that's what we are here for."

The 2024 FINA Swimming World Cup features three legs. After the Shanghai event, the competitions will be held in Incheon from Oct 24 to 26 and in Singapore from Oct 31 to Nov 2. The three World Cup events will also serve as qualifiers for the Short Course World Championships in Budapest in December.